Monday, May 29, 2006

Earth-wall construction - is it good insulation?

"Latest tests by CSIRO have confirmed that rammed earth walls have poor thermal resistance -- adding hard facts to the debate about their insulation properties.

"CSIRO says this raises the question, "Why do so many Australians believe earth construction provides such a comfortable home?"

"The research, conducted by CSIRO and funded by the Western Australian Office of Energy, also produced results that effectively end the controversy over the accuracy of previously published data for the thermal resistance of rammed earth walls.

"'Our findings were based on testing of two commercially-produced rammed earth products, both of which turned out to have poor thermal resistance,' says Mr Robin Clarke, of CSIRO Thermal & Fluids Engineering (T&FE)."CSIRO

"Mudbrick houses, the traditional domain of conservationists and alternative-lifestyle devotees, are under threat from the Australian State Government's five-star energy standard - which, ironically, was introduced to improve the environmental performance of homes."The Age

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